Fishing spear



W. l. SWEET FISHING SPEAR May 23, 195o Filed Jan. 28, A1948 mm Q M fr MMA L Patented May 23! 1950 ortica FISHING SPEAK.

Williamplruin.weetwayzataiiiinm Application January 28, 1948*", Serlaii'No. 4;771-'1V Claims. `1..

My invention. relates: to improvements-'in a fishing spear o! 'thetype usedby anglers whoenie gage in lice fishing orf-in otherwisecatchingffish by means ofal'ancelike member.

A popular- 'winter sportin .cold climates isiin. iishing thrcugliy av hole in the icethat covers natural bodies ofwater. One normv ofthezprac tice is to outa fhcl'e through the ice to Vthe water body so asV -tcprovide'- .directA access-1tothe-water. A small enclosure such as a tent or portable fish ing houseisfmountedzoverthe hole inthe ice .and -formsa protection forv the=angler astwell as enclosing him'in la darkarea soithatxthe only light -wli'ich enters .the enclosurel is'- .that which: isKV freatracted from .the ioefand Waterbody; A- .suitable form of bait isfsuspendedl intotherwater for a short distancebelow'thesurface thereofa-toattract -sh -to the 4area yimmediately'adjacenty the hole in the ice. When the fish approachesfthesurfaceoi .the :waterfit. becomes .readily visiblen since the anglers background; is; .da-rkv and the: source.- 0I iight., entering: thev enclosure; isA through thev `ice and water, thus:` the sn .canybenattackedrand caught; with azlance onspear. 'Zliie :spear Yusedhr these purposes; generaiiy consists pf.' :a stan Dre- 25 vided with a; sharpfspoint at' :its lowerrend .and `means for attaching` ayropeltcfthe amper. end. The rspear isthrownxcrffdrivenfthe ish soA asstc impale: the iish ,on Vtheasiiarp point. Greati skill is 'required in handling --the spear :otherwise: it will be driven inta-the v:ice around; the; periphery o! thahole. m itlisikly tobeedriven into the water and against rocks on the lower surface thereof.

Another formeofshing'with a. device of this nature, where the practice. is. lawfnl,.fis.for the angler to stand on the bank of a .flowing stream and throw or hinge the `spear at a fish when it swims close'to the bank;

Inf-either of these practices y'the spear must-Abe aiwell balanced .devicesn that: it .can be accurately handled, and tmustA also .becapable of withstanding. rough usage. such `asswll .occur when it is driven against rocks or in the surface of the ice, either of which practices is likely to cause damage to the sharp point.

In the present invention a spear is provided which consists of a staff formed of a plurality of jointed members, and a, head portion formed of a plurality of barbed tines, wherein each of the tines is independently removable from the head portion for replacement in the event of damage. The tines are arranged on the head portion in laterally spaced relation to each other so thata nsh is generally impaled on two or more tines. Moreover, each of the tines is provided with a 50 the upper surface of the member.

16 spear fcrrusefbyanglera comprised ofzastai iiortionr .andi-.a headhortion, .each- -cf which is formed of separable parts.

Another object isfr'togproyidezin a fshingrspear a :head:mtion'thatsupports-.aplurality-ofbarbed '19 -tinesiarranged with `relationtc-each;other es tcghold'a-fshonthezharbs ci: two or'fmcrestines.

further: object.' is to provide a means .ot

mounting--the=- tinea .er aiishing-` spear-'Within .a

head-.zwrtioni-in a. manner that each .tine

F15 isssecxirelr held-audimat .can becas-illy. replaedin :hfeiientziofrdamaghr Qther-andrfrurther.objects may-beccmeapnarent from the .following descriptaierland claims -andin therapnended drawings. in which;

120 :Eig: iris :naciera-tion cfaiishingispear used by anglers:

Fig. 2 `is across-section v.ta-kenthrough the head ot'the:.-spearshownfin Fia l to show the manner inswhich :the tinesrareanounted. ',tlierein;

Fig; ais asectcnftakenaon the klines-ht .0I Eig-z 2;, and; miie. tais asectiontaken; ou the lines niet Referring new tothe several .views of thedrawthe. :invention will beY described .in detail,

Referring parti.chiariti to Fig; 1 a ShingnT-spear indicate-di, general reference numeral in: 1s comncsedeofi estati-.formed cfa'pluraiity cf rods Mandi 4i., eachzci-whichissnrovided `with a male 35- and female thread ,on itsopposite ends,.-asfinde V.eateciffati 6;. 43S,fzrandm;sofas toename the rods -tcfhe joined @neto-another.. A-.sphericaizmember '2L mounted on. threaded;portionY |16- of.` rod -I-2 to provideavsmoth gltpping'surace and also a im. meanszbyzrchicha mot shown,` may-be tied abouttherupner `endcf-y 10d: I 2f.

A. ercsseihead: indicated- Ebyv general .reference a rod 30 extending therefrom, which is threaded at surface 34. As best shown in Fig. 2, member 28 also has a plurality of threaded passages 36 which extend from the lower surface 34 through Member 28 also has extending upwardly from its lower 'surface 34 a plurality of sockets 38.

Cross-head 26 is also composed of a second member 40 having a flat upper surface 42 that is adapted to cooperate with the hat lower surface 3 34 of member 28. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a groove 44 extends across the entire upper surface 42 of member 4I). Member 40 is also provided with a rst set of vertical passages 46 and a second set of vertical passages 48.

A plurality of tines 5I! are composed of linear shafts 52, each of which has a cylindrical butt end 54 that is adapted to extend through passage 48 of member 40 into socket 38 of member 28. At their other ends, each tine memberr is provided With a sharp point 56 and at least one rearwardly extending barb 58. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the center tine 50a has extending rearwardly from its pointed portion, barbs 58 and 58a', i

on either side of shaft 52.

As will be clearly evident in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, each of the tine members 50, adjacent its butt extremity 54, has a transverse aperture 50 through which extends a pin B2. are cylindrical and of a dimension that they will fit within the transverse-groove 44 in the upper surface of cross-member 40. 'A .plurality of threaded bolts 54 extend through passages 46 in member 48 and are threadedly engaged in passages- 36 of member 28 to secure the two 'cross-members in rigid relationship with each other.

The mode of assembling and use of the device will now be explained in detail. The several rods I2 and I4 are threadedly joined one to another through their several threaded connections and form a linear staff. A particular advantage results from forming the stai in this manner in that it may be easily carried when disjointed and where desired, rod |12 in place of being connected to rod I4 may be threadedly joined with any other form of tool such as a chisel'or pick `for cutting a hole in the ice prior to the commencement of the fishing operation. The head portion 26 may be assembled by inserting the shafts 52 of the several tines 50 with their butt ends 54 through the apertures 48 of member 40, Whereafter the several pins 62 are inserted through apertures Si! and the tines pulled downwardly until the pins 52 are engaged in groove 44. Thereafter, with the lower portion assembled,'it is joined to the upper member 28 and the several bolts 64 are locked in place. The upper ends of the butt portions -54 thus will extend :Into sockets 38 to form an extremely rigid connection about the butt ends 54 of the tines.

With the structure now assembled, head portion 2S is threadedly joined with rod I4 through their respective threaded connections and the spear is ready for use. To avoid loss of the spear it is advisable that a suitable rope, not shown, be tied about the upper end of the spear beneath the spherical member 24. When actually in use, an angler holds a line supporting on its end a suitable form of bait in one hand and the spear IB in the other hand. When a sh appreaches, the spear is lunged or thrown at the fish and preferably in such a manner as to hit The several pins 62-` the ish directly bach of the head and along the spine. The sharp points 56 of the several tine members will impale the sh, and by arrangement of the several barbs 58 and 58a, it Will be apparent that in general a nsh will be impaled by one or more tines and in such a manner that the barb of an adjacent tine will aid in holding the iish against escape. With the iish thus securely held on the end of the spear, it lis withdrawn from the water and the fish-removed.

My invention is defined in the terms of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A fishing spear embodying a stair and a tine, and means for removably securing the tine to `the staff' comprising a first cross member secured to one end of the sta, a second crossI member secured to one end of the tine, said second member having a groove formed in its upper surface and a passageway which bisects said groove and is adapted to receive a portion of said tine, said first member having an aperture in alignment with the passage in said second'inember for receiving another portion of sa-id tine, fastening means carried by said tine and cooperable with the groove in said second member to secure the tine against rotation relative to said second member, and means for securing said members with relation to each other to' lock `said tine between said members.

A 2. A fishing spear embodying a staff and a'plurality of tine members each formed of a-shaft having a barbed point, means for mounting the tines with relation to the staff comprising a first crossmember secured to one end of the stan', a second cross member cooperable with the rst member and having a groove formed in its cooperable surface and a plurality of passages bisecting said groove at spaced apart distances -from each other, a plurality of tine members,

'a butt portion of each of said tine members ex- REFERENCES CITED Y The following references are of le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS `record lin the Number Name Date 172,312 Hedges Jan. 18, 1876 1,302,457 Ureck Apr. 29, 1919 Sliwinski July 22, 1919 

